Lockdown not enough to curb COVID-19, Nigerian Nurses’ Association tells Govt

The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) has advised the Nigerian government that immunisation is the only measure to curb the spread of COVID-19 and not another lockdown as the country deals with a second wave of the disease.

The NANNM President, Abdulrafiu Adeniji, in an interview with SaharaReporters, stated this, adding that while lockdown was a “mere means of breaking the chain of transmission, it is not a holistic measure.”

Talks of another lockdown in Nigeria have been generating controversies in some quarters amid the fresh surge of COVID-19 cases.

But speaking with SaharaReporters on Tuesday, Adeniji described lockdown as a mere step to break the chain of transmission of the disease, noting that a holistic measure such as immunisation was necessary.

He said, “The only measure is immunisation. If immunisation is not there, then we have to break the chain of transmission’ lockdown is just a mere step to break the chain of transmission.

“If our people can be religious about it, then in a little time, the issue of transmission from one person to another will stop.

“Lockdown will give health workers the focus wherever the COVID-19 is endemic; they will easily approach it from that angle and ensure they treat people there; that is the role of epidemiology.

“COVID-19 is a novel one, very new, very drastic and it mutates very quickly. As a result, we are left with no other option but for each person to see themselves as an agent of controlling and preventing the occurrence and spread of the disease from one place to the other. If it does not occur, it may not spread, so the first target is to prevent the occurrence.”

Adeniji also advised Nigerians to maintain personal hygiene to curb the spread of the disease while strictly following the COVID-19 guidelines.

“Avoid touching common surfaces in public like door handles, hall windows, rails. And if you touch them, wash your hands, don’t touch your face and don’t allow any fluid to touch you on these places because the soft tissues in this area adequately harbour this COVID-19 virus and it might develop from there,” he said.

According to him, anyone who is infected should be in isolation and seek medical treatment so as not to infect others.

There is a need to control the spread by preventing interaction, mingling and exchange of body fluid, he said.

According to him, the issue of COVID-19 is an all-encompassing issue with a lot of factors and impacts. He described it as “a universal calamity”.